Making It Flow: One Key To Taking Your Writing From Good To Great
Over twenty-three years of teaching legal writing, I have read many student briefs. Many, many student briefs. Each year, as I grade my students’ final briefs, I find myself reflecting on the same question: what really distinguishes a great brief from a good brief?
It’s not usually the content; all of the students are working with the same body of authority and the same set of facts. And it’s not usually the structure; all of the students are well-versed in the IRAC framework. It’s not usually even the writing style; by the end of the first year, all of the students have learned to value precision, clarity, and conciseness.
I’ve decided that what really makes a brief great—what makes it stand out from all the rest—is the flow of it. A great brief flows seamlessly from paragraph to paragraph, from sentence to sentence, from word to word. As I read it, I’m carried along with the current, but the pace of the current is comfortable. The writer knows I want to be able to read the brief without having to stop constantly to figure out the relationship between the words, sentences, and ideas. But she also knows I want to be able to “catch my breath” along the way. So as she edits and revises her draft, she makes a conscious effort to create that comfortable flow.
There are several techniques that legal writers—all writers, for that matter—can use to create excellent flow in their documents. I’ll highlight three here: strategic repetition of words and phrases, “just right” transitions, and thoughtful paragraphing.
Consider the following excerpt from a student brief I recently graded (used here with permission):
A home is a place of safety and comfort. When Calvin Bryant moved into River Heights Senior Care Center, he was seeking a home—a place where he could safely and comfortably recover from the massive ischemic stroke that had impaired him physically and cognitively. However, that sense of safety and comfort was shattered when a fellow River Heights resident assaulted Mt. Bryant, robbing him of his eyesight and subjecting him to severe mental and emotional turmoil.
In the wake of this traumatic assault, Mr. Bryant found a new home in Macon, Georgia, when his daughter and plenary guardian, Bonnie Whitten, moved him to a private room at the Homestead Center. There, Mr. Bryant thrives under Homestead’s unique and innovative music therapy program; this program has resulted in considerable improvement in his speech and mobility. As a former music teacher, Mr. Bryant visibly responds to this therapy, which taps into his lifelong love of music. He is also visibly happy when his daughter makes her regular visits—visits that are now more frequent, since Homestead is much closer than River Heights to Atlanta, where Ms. Whitten lives. This additional time with her father allows her to ensure he is safe and comfortable and receiving the best of care in his new home. And, all the while, she gets to watch her father making progress as he smiles and keeps time with the music.
This excerpt masterfully uses strategic repetition of words and phrases, “just right” transitions, and thoughtful paragraphing to achieve a beautiful flow. The first sentence establishes a theme: A home is a place of safety and comfort. The next sentence picks up on this theme by repeating the word home and the phrase safely and comfortably. Then the third sentence takes the theme one powerful step farther by stating that Mr. Bryant’s safety and comfort was shattered by an assault.
Then, the writer starts a new paragraph, allowing the reader to pause briefly to absorb the gravity of Mr. Bryant’s situation. The paragraph begins with a “just right” transitional phrase that strategically repeats the word assault: In the wake of this traumatic assault. And then the writer returns to the theme of home: Mr. Bryant found a new home in Macon, Georgia. This paragraph is longer, using sentences that build on one another to paint a happier picture of Mr. Bryan, who is described as visibly responding to music therapy and visibly happy when his daughter visits (more strategic repetition). The writer even repeats the phrases safe and comfortable and new home toward the end of the paragraph, to bring the reader back to the opening theme of the excerpt.
Achieving a smooth flow can be especially challenging when the subject matter of a document is complex. But that’s when it’s most important. Consider the effective use of strategic repetition of words and phrases, “just right” transitions, and thoughtful paragraphing in the opening paragraphs of King v. Burwell, [1] a Supreme Court opinion discussing very technical aspects of the Affordable Care Act:
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act adopts a series of interlocking reforms designed to expand coverage in the individual health insurance market. First, the Act bars insurers from taking a person’s health into account when deciding whether to sell health insurance or how much to charge. Second, the Act generally requires each person to maintain insurance coverage or make a payment to the Internal Revenue Service. And third, the Act gives tax credits to certain people to make insurance more affordable.
In addition to those reforms, the Act requires the creation of an “Exchange” in each State—basically, a marketplace that allows people to compare and purchase insurance plans. The Act gives each State the opportunity to establish its own Exchange, but provides that the Federal Government will establish the Exchange if the State does not.
This case is about whether the Act’s interlocking reforms apply equally in each State no matter who establishes the State’s Exchange. Specifically, the question presented is whether the Act’s tax credits are available in States that have a Federal Exchange.
Chief Justice Roberts begins by using a key phrase to explain how the ACA works: a series of interlocking reforms. He uses the word reforms again in the first sentence of the second paragraph, and he repeats the phrase interlocking reforms in the first sentence of the third paragraph. This strategic repetition helps weave the three short paragraphs into a cohesive whole, leading the reader smoothly to the issue that the Court’s opinion addresses.
Chief Justice Roberts also uses some “just right” transitions. Consider the first paragraph, in which he guides the reader through his explanation of the ACA’s interlocking reforms. First, the Act bars . . . . Second, the Act generally requires . . . . And third, the Act gives . . . . And consider the last paragraph, where the insertion of the word Specifically between the two sentences helps the reader understand how the ideas in the sentences are connected. Note the simplicity of these transitional phrases, as well as the parallel structure of the transitions in the first paragraph. I often see legal writers using transitions a bit haphazardly (perhaps a subject for a future column), resulting in analyses or arguments that read like separate points loosely strung together. This choppy style makes the reader have to work harder than he should to figure out the relationship between those points. When a writer spends just a little time thinking about what transitional words or phrases will be “just right” to explain those relationships, the reader can lean into the analysis, moving comfortably with the current.
And Chief Justice Roberts uses thoughtful paragraphing in this excerpt. Note that the first paragraph is just four sentences, the second is just two sentences, and the third is also just two sentences. There is no rule that governs how long a paragraph should be; the more complex the subject matter, the more the reader will benefit from short paragraphs that allow for frequent pauses in his reading. The key to using short paragraphs effectively is to begin them with “just right” transitions. For example, the second paragraph of the excerpt begins with In addition to these reforms. This simple transition helps the reader see the relationship between the preceding content and the content that follows (The Act did that thing, and now here’s another thing the Act does).
I hope these examples encourage you to think carefully about how you can achieve the kind of flow that will take your own legal writing from good to great. It’s hard work (effective legal writing is just hard, right?), but when you succeed in creating that smooth, comfortable current, your reader will definitely notice and appreciate your efforts.
Laura Graham serves as Professor of Legal Writing and Director of Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research at Wake Forest University School of Law, where she has been teaching since 1999. She was the first recipient of the law school’s Graham Award for Excellence in Teaching Legal Research and Writing, which is named in her honor, and currently serves as president of the Association of Legal Writing Directors. Graham is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Wake Forest University School of Law.
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[1] 576 U.S. 473 (2015).